France’s national postal service, La Poste, suffered a cyber incident days before Christmas that disrupted websites, mobile applications and parts of its delivery network.
The organisation confirmed a distributed denial of service attack temporarily knocked key digital systems offline, slowing parcel distribution during the busiest period of the year.
A disruption that also affected La Banque Postale, with customers reporting limited access to online banking and mobile services. Card payments in stores, ATM withdrawals, and authenticated online payments continued to function, easing concerns over wider financial instability.
La Poste stated there was no evidence of customer data exposure, although several post offices in France operated at reduced capacity. Staff were deployed to restore services while maintaining in-person banking and postal transactions where possible.
The incident added to growing anxiety over digital resilience in critical public services, particularly following a separate data breach disclosed at France’s Interior Ministry last week. Authorities have yet to identify those responsible for the attack on La Poste.
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The US tech giant NVIDIA has largely remained shut out of China’s market for advanced AI chips, as US export controls have restricted sales due to national security concerns.
High-performance processors such as the H100 and H200 were barred, forcing NVIDIA to develop downgraded alternatives tailored for Chinese customers instead of flagship products.
A shift in policy emerged after President Donald Trump announced that H200 chip sales to China could proceed following a licensing review and a proposed 25% fee. The decision reopened a limited pathway for exporting advanced US AI hardware, subject to regulatory approval in both Washington and Beijing.
If authorised, the H200 shipments would represent the most powerful US-made AI chips permitted in China since restrictions were introduced. The move could help NVIDIA monetise existing H200 inventory while easing pressure on its China business as it transitions towards newer Blackwell chips.
Strategically, the decision may slow China’s push for AI chip self-sufficiency, as domestic alternatives still lag behind NVIDIA’s technology.
At the same time, the policy highlights a transactional approach to export controls, raising uncertainty over long-term US efforts to contain China’s technological rise.
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Medicine still relies largely on population averages, even though genetic and cellular differences shape how diseases develop and respond to treatment.
Researchers at Microsoft argue that AI could transform healthcare by learning the language of biology and enabling truly personalised medicine instead of one-size-fits-all therapies.
Ava Amini, principal researcher at Microsoft Research, explains that AI can detect biological patterns at a scale impossible for human analysis.
Single cancer biopsies can generate tens of millions of data points, allowing AI models to identify meaningful signals and support precision treatment strategies tailored to individual patients.
Building on decades of biological coding systems, Microsoft has developed generative models such as EvoDiff and the Dayhoff Atlas to design new proteins using biological language.
Lab testing has shown a marked improvement in functional success, demonstrating that AI-driven protein design is moving beyond theory into real-world application.
Challenges remain in modelling entire human cells, where current AI systems still predict averages rather than biological diversity. Microsoft researchers continue to pursue integrated experimental and computational approaches, aiming to bring precision oncology closer to everyday clinical practice.
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Elon Musk has told xAI employees that the next two to three years will determine whether the company survives and emerges as a leading force in artificial general intelligence.
Speaking during a company-wide meeting, Musk argued that endurance during such a period could position xAI at the forefront of the AGI race.
Musk suggested that AGI could be achieved by xAI as early as 2026, pointing to rapid advances in the Grok model family. He has previously offered shifting timelines for AGI development, underscoring both technological momentum and persistent uncertainty surrounding the field.
The remarks come as competition across the AI sector intensifies, with OpenAI accelerating model releases and Google unveiling new iterations of its Gemini system. Against larger incumbents, xAI is positioning itself as a challenger focused on speed, scale and aggressive execution.
Central to that strategy is the Colossus project, which has already deployed around 200,000 GPUs and plans to expand to one million.
Musk also highlighted operational synergies with Tesla and SpaceX, while floating longer-term concepts such as space-based data centres, reinforcing xAI’s ambition to differentiate through scale and unconventional infrastructure.
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The European Commission has proposed extending the Interim Regulation that allows online service providers to voluntarily detect and report child sexual abuse instead of facing a legal gap once the current rules expire.
These measures would preserve existing safeguards while negotiations on permanent legislation continue.
The Interim Regulation enables providers of certain communication services to identify and remove child sexual abuse material under a temporary exemption from e-Privacy rules.
Without an extension beyond April 2026, voluntary detection would have to stop, making it easier for offenders to share illegal material and groom children online.
According to the Commission, proactive reporting by platforms has played a critical role for more than fifteen years in identifying abuse and supporting criminal investigations. Extending the interim framework until April 2028 is intended to maintain these protections until long-term EU rules are agreed.
The proposal now moves to the European Parliament and the Council, with the Commission urging swift agreement to ensure continued protection for children across the Union.
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Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the widespread adoption of AI is likely to displace workers from existing roles, drawing parallels with the labour disruption caused by the Industrial Revolution.
He emphasised that while AI can boost productivity and economic growth, the UK must invest in training and education to help workers transition into jobs that are AI-enabled.
Bailey expressed particular concern about the impact on younger and inexperienced workers, warning that AI may reduce entry-level opportunities in sectors such as law, accountancy and administration. He noted that firms may hire fewer junior staff as AI systems replace routine data and document analysis.
Despite these risks, Bailey described AI as a potential driver of future UK growth, although he cautioned that productivity gains may take time to materialise.
He also stated that the Bank of England is experimenting with AI internally while monitoring concerns about a potential AI market bubble and the risks of a sharp valuation correction.
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Russia has reported a sharp decline in cyber fraud following the introduction of new regulatory measures in 2025. Officials say legislative action targeting telephone and online scams has begun to deliver measurable results.
State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Digital Development Ivan Lebedev told the State Duma that crimes covered by the first package of reforms, known as ‘Cyberbez 1.0’, have fallen by 40%, according to confirmed statistics.
Earlier this year, Lebedev said Russia records roughly 677,000 cases of phone and online fraud annually, with incidents rising by more than 35% since 2022, highlighting the scale of the challenge faced by authorities.
In April, President Vladimir Putin signed a law introducing a range of countermeasures, including a state information system to combat fraud, limits on unsolicited marketing calls, stricter SIM card issuance rules, and new compliance obligations for banks.
Further steps are now under discussion. Officials say a second package is being prepared, while a third set of initiatives was announced in December as Russia continues to strengthen its digital security framework.
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Two former DeepMind co-founders now leading rival AI labs have outlined sharply different visions for how artificial general intelligence (AGI) should be developed, highlighting a growing strategic divide at the top of the industry.
Google DeepMind chief executive Demis Hassabis has framed AGI as a scientific tool for tackling foundational challenges. These include fusion energy, advanced materials, and fundamental physics. He says current models still lack consistent reasoning across tasks.
Hassabis has pointed to weaknesses, such as so-called ‘jagged intelligence’. Systems can perform well on complex benchmarks but fail simple tasks. DeepMind is investing in physics-based evaluations and AlphaZero-inspired research to enable genuine knowledge discovery rather than data replication.
Microsoft AI chief executive Mustafa Suleyman has taken a more product-led stance, framing AGI as an economic force rather than a scientific milestone. He has rejected the idea of race, instead prioritising controllable and reliable AI agents that operate under human oversight.
Suleyman has argued that governance, not raw capability, is the central challenge. He has emphasised containment, liability frameworks, and certified agents, reflecting wider tensions between rapid deployment and long-term scientific ambition as AI systems grow more influential.
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Former UK chancellor George Osborne has joined OpenAI in a London-based role. He will lead the OpenAI for Countries programme focused on government partnerships.
The initiative aims to help governments build AI capacity and ensure systems reflect democratic values. OpenAI says more than 50 countries are already involved.
Osborne will work on developing AI infrastructure, boosting AI literacy and improving public services. The role follows discussions with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman.
His appointment comes as UK-US tech talks face setbacks and investment in AI accelerates. Against this backdrop, financial authorities have warned of risks linked to the sector’s rapid growth.
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The San Francisco-based software company Salesforce has opened a significantly expanded office in Stockholm, reinforcing its long-term investment in Sweden and its broader Northern European strategy.
A new location that reflects the growing demand for AI-driven enterprise tools as regional businesses increasingly adopt agent-based technologies across their operations.
Located at Sveavägen 20, the Stockholm office is four times larger than Salesforce’s previous space and has been designed to support hybrid work, collaboration and innovation.
The opening event highlighted the focus of Salesforce on real estate as a strategic enabler for AI transformation, bringing together employees, partners, customers and community organisations.
A launch that also featured the Agentforce Sweden Nonprofit Hackathon, where Swedish charities presented AI agent solutions to improve efficiency and impact.
Majblomman received SEK 150,000 for an autonomous financial aid agent, underlining Salesforce’s ambition to position the Stockholm office as a regional hub for agentic enterprise development and responsible AI adoption.
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